PSA

There's an amusing new Public Service Announcement out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/star-stuffed-psa-get-five_n_138913.html Note the effective use of reverse psychology.

I also wanted to ask, now that we're all on Facebook on top of this (semi-regularly updated) blog, do we feel as though technology has "brought us closer together?" It's cliched enough to be difficult to say, but hard to dispute.

Not that I've seen any pictures of Amy's new haircut, though, so really what's the benefit?

Looking Forward

So this weekend I've been trying to concentrate on working on my term papers. In my Law & Development class it looks like I'll be writing about the effect of crime on Mexico's development, and its attendant effect on US-Mexican relations. For Compliance and Exceptionalism in American Treaty Behavior, I think it'll be US reservations to international human rights treaties. If those sound like interesting topics, I would agree, but both are also going to require a healthy bit of work.

After all, I want to be way out ahead of them so I don't have to stress out over Thanksgiving, right?

Perfect (Columbus) Day for a Run

Irene's Surprise Party

That's right. Here are links to the pictures...

Did you ever think...

... that "The United States of America" is actually a pretty poor name? I know I've brought my patriotism into question simply by bringing this up, but here me out. "United States," is a description that applies to almost all countries (as they are all composed of smaller bodies, whether they're cantons or provinces or what have you). "America" is the name shared by two continents. Worst of all, if you combine the two, the "United States of America," you should really be referring some entity that contains all the countries of North and South America.

Obviously there are historical reasons we ended up this way (and the "European Union" is currently living through them). The Founding Fathers had enough on their plates. But isn't there some power to a original name?

Unseasonably Warm Day

It's a a nice Thursday in Medford (where the Tufts campus is). Seventy degrees with intermittent cloud cover. There's a touch of humidity with the warmth, so it feels a bit like a day in early Spring. Doomed not to last...

Oranges

Thank you very much for the oranges! Steve and I have both been eating them, and Irene, who's sick and visiting, is also quite grateful.

Many thanks!

Spanish Exam, Part 1

Good news! This morning I took the first part of my required Spanish proficiency exam. I needed to translate a Spanish article (on the development of the feminist movement in Spain, as it turned out) into English. There were two sections: Functional & Advanced. Functional went well--the Advanced I'm less sure about. But, luckily for me, functionality is all that's required. Now all I need to do is have a half an hour conversation to demonstrate verbal proficiency.

Unfortunately, the soccer team dropped a 4-1 game last night, although it was closer than the score would indicate. Que lastima.